Hon. Jo D. Hatch, deceased, for many years the efficient
mayor of the city of Burlington, Vermont, was born in Norwich, Vermont,
January 21, 1811, a son of Reuben and Eunice (Dennison) Hatch.

Reuben Hatch came to Norwich at an early age with his father, Joseph
(Captain) Hatch. Captain Hatch along with his older brother, John were
among the first settlers of Norwich.

May Alice Hatch, this submitter’s paternal grandmother, (though
born and lived most of her young life in Norwich, died in Burlington) would
be John Hatch’s gggrandaughter: Harriet M. Chase >> Raymond Eugene
Chase >> May (Mary) Alice Hatch >> Abel Hatch >> Amos Hatch >> Adrian Hatch
>> John Hatch

Also another Norwich to Burlington connection (per History of Norwich):
Doctor Horace Hatch, son of Reuben and Eunice Hatch practiced medicine
from approx. 1837- 1857 in Burlington, Vermont.

The early years of Mr. Hatch’s life were spent in attending the
primitive schools of his native town, and this was supplemented by his
entrance, in 1826, as a student at Dartmouth College, from which institution
he was graduated with honors in 1830; among his classmates were President
Smith, the Hon. W. H. Duncan and John H. Noyes, of Onedia community fame.

After his graduation Mr. Hatch returned to Windsor and engaged in
mercantile pursuits, being the proprietor of a general store; by frugal
and industrious habits, coupled with sound business judgment, he accumulated
a fortune and became one of the prominent and influential men of the town.

He was often urged by his friends to allow his name to be used for
some leading county or state office, but only twice would he appear as
a possible candidate; then he was unanimously elected to represent the
town in the state legislature for 1853 and 1854, and was chosen senator
from Windsor County in 1857 and 1858.

After having retired from business pursuits, Mr. Hatch removed to
Burlington in 1861, and being an intimate personal friend of Governor Smith,
he interested himself in the Vermont Central, Vermont and Canada, and other
railroads, and with the late Joseph Clark, Lawrence Brainern, John Smith
and others, did much in shaping the legislation that has given Vermont
one of the fines lines of railroads in the country.

He took an active part in local and state affairs, being elected
in 1870 a member of the board of aldermen, which office he held until 1876,
when he resigned in order to accept the responsible position of mayor.
At that time the city had a bonded debt of $409,312.13 and a tax of two
dollars and fifty cents on the hundred, and it was largely through his
judicious and persistent efforts that the tax in 1882 was but one dollar
on the hundred. When he vacated the office of mayor in 1883, the bonded
debt of the city had been reduced to $42,679.71, and the sinking fund of
the city increased $43,824.26; the long term in which he was the incumbent
of the office shows the esteem in which he was held by his fellow citizens.

Few men in the state enjoyed a wider acquaintance than he, his kind
heart and amiable disposition making him popular with all classes; as a
business man he proved his ability to become an executive and leader, and
his public record was untarnished in every respect.

After giving up public life Mr. Hatch was a familiar figure on the
streets of Burlington, making his headquarters at the Algonquin Club, of
which he was vice president in 1891 and chosen to act in the capacity the
following year, and it was in that organization he spent many pleasant
afternoons for several years prior to his death. Like many me who reach
the ripe of age of eighty-seven years, he enjoyed "living in the past,"
and related many stories of his boyhood days with the "boys," as he termed
them; his mental faculties were well preserved for one of his age, and
being a good story teller, his society was always sought by his friends.

On April 5, 1832, Mr. Hatch was united in marriage to Miss Florence
Forbes, a daughter of General Abner Forbes, of Windsor, Vermont, where
Mrs. Hatch was born and where her father lived all his life. Of the children
born to General Forbes, only one is now living, Gustavus Forbes, of Newton
Center, Vermont.

Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hatch: Pattie F., wife of
D. C. Linsley, deceased; Josephine H., wife of Rodney S. Wires, deceased;
Elizabeth, who became the wife of Isaac Green, now deceased; and William
D., who died in infancy.

Mr. Hatch died May 21,1898; his last days were not associated with
pain or severe sickness, but he passed away with nothing but the natural
wearing out of the body, weighted down with more than fourscore years of
useful life. The domestic life of Mr. Hatch was a pleasant one, he being
a devoted husband and a kind, indulgent father. His wife passed away
October 13, 1883.

Biographic
sketch from the "Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont";edited by
Hon. Hiram Carleton, Lewis Publishing Company, 1903.

Genealogical
information supplemented by "History of Norwich, Vermont"; Goddard &
Partridge, 1905; also this submitter’s personal family research of Norwich,
Vermont Vital Records.